“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

AP Exclusive Story Reports that Investigation of Bennett Strongly Supported His Prosecution and Members of His Staff

A monthslong investigation into former Indiana schools Superintendent
Tony Bennett’s

Former State Superintendent Tony Bennett

use of state staff and resources during his 2012
re-election campaign found ample evidence to support federal wire fraud
charges, according to a copy of the 95-page report viewed by The
Associated Press.

Despite a recommendation that charges be
pursued, Bennett has never faced prosecution for such charges — which
could have carried up to 20 years in prison.

The investigation,
which was completed by the inspector general’s office in February, found
more than 100 instances in which Bennett or his employees violated
federal wire fraud law. That contrasts sharply with an eight-page formal
report issued in July that said the office found minimal violations,
resulting in a $5,000 fine and an admonishment that Bennett could have
avoided fines by rewriting rules to allow some campaign work on state
time.

...

Bennett’s use of state resources during his failed 2012 re-election
campaign came under scrutiny after the AP reported in September 2013
that Bennett had kept multiple campaign databases on Department of
Education servers and that his calendar listed more than 100 instances
of “campaign calls” during regular work hours. The AP also reported that
Bennett had ordered his staff to dissect a speech by his Democratic
opponent for inaccuracies — in apparent violation of Indiana election
and ethics laws.

...

The full Bennett investigation document shows more instances of campaigning with public resources than previously reported.

From
Jan. 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2012, the investigation found more than 100
violations of wire fraud laws. They included 56 violations by 14 Bennett
employees and 21 days in which Bennett misused his state-issued SUV.
Then-Chief of Staff Heather Neal had the most violations, 17.

In a
section labeled “Scheme to Defraud,” the inspector general laid out its
case, saying Bennett “while serving as the elected Superintendent of
Public Instruction of the State of Indiana, devised a scheme or artifice
to defraud the State of Indiana of money and property by using State of
Indiana paid employees and property, for his own personal gain, as well
as for his own political benefit to be re-elected to the office of
Superintendent of Public Instruction.”

The violations fell into
five categories: political campaign fundraising, responding to political
opponent’s assertions, calendar political activity meetings, political
campaign call appointments and general political campaign activity.

Through
reviews of emails and calendar entries and more than 50 interviews with
top Republicans and former staffers, investigator Charles Coffin
determined that Bennett falsified mileage logs to cover fundraising
trips and the use of two state workers as campaign drivers. The report
also details 20 days on which Bennett used the SUV to go to local
Republican fundraisers coded as “business” in his handwritten vehicle
logs, as well as instances when trips to events billed as
education-related also had calendar notes about political donors being present.

Bennett also used tax dollars to send a staffer to attend the 2012 Republican Party convention on his behalf.

I'm not sure if I'm more bothered by the alleged conduct of Bennett and his staff or David Thomas for apparently covering up the seriousness of the allegations and the prosecutors for failing to prosecute. It is stunning the zeal with which they went after Charlie White on dubious charges, but failed to prosecute Bennett or anyone in his administration with respect to these findings.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Pence will never be President....The gang behind all the shenanigans will be exposed more and more with AP and alternative media...Gary, why can't we post your articles to Face Book and other Social Media? Think about the word spreading,or the truth.Watch you back on these cancerous smugs.

Tom Lobianco is lazy, everyone who works in state government knows this to be true, and his career depends entirely on access to Ritz's office. Without Ritz he would have gone back to Maryland by now because no one else likes,him because he is not very bright and he teeth are yellow.

About Me

I have been an attorney since the Fall of 1987. I have worked in every branch of government, including a stint as a Deputy Attorney General, a clerk for a judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, and I have worked three sessions at the Indiana State Senate.
During my time as a lawyer, I have worked not only in various government positions, but also in private practice as a trial attorney handing an assortment of mostly civil cases.
I have also been politically active and run this blog in an effort to add my voice to those calling for reform.